Heaviest The heaviest MP of all time is believed to be
Sir Cyril Smith,
MP for Rochdale between 1972 and 1992, who weighed 189.6 kg (nearly 30 stone) at his peak in 1976.
Tallest The tallest MP of all time is believed to be
Daniel Kawczynski, MP for
Shrewsbury and Atcham between 2005 and 2024, at in 2007, later stated to be in 2014. Before Kawczynski's election the record was held by
Louis Gluckstein, MP for
Nottingham East between 1931 and 1945, who measured . Among pre-20th-century MPs,
Sir John Cheyne (c. 1442–1499), known among contemporaries as the "Vigorous Knight" and MP for
Wiltshire between 1471 and 1481, has been estimated to have been tall, based on analysis of his
femur (measuring ) found in his tomb. The tallest female MP of all time is believed to be
Antoinette Sandbach at in 2011, when she was a
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament (formerly National Assembly for Wales) member, later stated to be in 2019. She served in the House of Commons as MP for
Eddisbury in 2015–2019.
Shortest Not counting MPs who served as minors, adult contenders for this record in modern times include
Sarah Teather, MP for
Brent East 2003–2010 and
Brent Central 2010–2015, who in 2014 was held to be the shortest MP then sitting, at
Physically disabled MPs The following were all known to be disabled when serving as MPs: •
Sir Francis Bryan, MP for
Buckinghamshire in 1529, 1539, 1542 and 1545, who lost an eye in a
tournament in 1526. •
William Page, MP for
Bridport in 1559,
Oxford 1562–1567, and
Saltash 1571–1581, who had a hand cut off in lieu of execution for distributing a political pamphlet in 1579. •
John Stubbs or Stubbe, MP for
Great Yarmouth 1588–1589, who also had right hand cut off in lieu of execution as Page was for publication of the same pamphlet in 1579. •
Sir Edward Sackville, MP for
Sussex 1621-22, who lost a finger in a duel in 1613. •
Sir Thomas Hutchinson, MP for
Nottinghamshire 1626 and 1640–1643, who lost two or three fingers when attacked by his guardian in 1613. •
Hugh Bethell, MP for
East Riding of Yorkshire 1654–1656 and
Hedon 1660–1679, who lost an eye at the
Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. •
John Hewson, MP for
Guildford 1656–1658, who lost an eye in action in Ireland in 1650. •
Sir Frescheville Holles, MP for
Grimsby 1667–1672, who lost an arm in a sea battle in 1666. •
Thomas Erle, MP for
Wareham 1679–1698 and 1701–1718, and
Portsmouth 1698–1702 and 1708, who lost his right hand (by some reports) at the
Battle of Almanza in 1707. •
Sackville Tufton, MP for
Appleby 1681–1689, who lost some use of his right hand after being wounded at the
Battle of Schooneveld in 1673. •
Sir James Lowther, MP for
Carlisle 1694–1702,
Appleby 1723–1727, and
Cumberland 1708–1722 and 1727–1755, who had his right leg amputated due to
gout in 1750. •
John Richmond Webb, MP for
Ludgershall 1695–1698, 1699–1705, 1706–1713 and 1715–1724, and for
Newport, Isle of Wight 1713–1715, who was lame after being severely wounded at the
Battle of Malplaquet in 1709. •
John Mordaunt, Viscount Mordaunt, MP for
Chippenham 1701–1705 and 1705–1708, who lost his left arm at the
Battle of Blenheim in 1704. •
George Clarke, MP for
Winchelsea 1702–1705,
East Looe 1705–1708,
Launceston 1711–1713, and
Oxford University 1717–1736, who by 1734 lost his left eye and was losing sight in the other. •
Sir John Jennings, MP for
Queenborough 1705–1710,
Portsmouth 1710–1711 and
Rochester 1715–1734, who was becoming increasingly deaf in 1727. •
Galfridus Walpole, MP for
Lostwithiel 1715–1721, who lost his right arm by a sea battle in 1711. •
Richard Herbert, MP for
Ludlow 1727–1741 and 1743–1754, who lost an eye in a pistol duel in 1746. •
William Windham, MP for
Sudbury 1720–1727 and
Aldeburgh 1727–1730, who lost a leg at the
Battle of Blenheim. •
Charles Stewart, MP for
Malmesbury 1723–1727 and
Portsmouth 1737–1741, who lost his right hand in a sea battle in 1697. •
William Banks, MP for
Grampound 1741–1747, who lost use of legs after an illness in 1745. •
Frederick North, Lord North, MP for
Banbury 1754–1790, and
Prime Minister 1770–1782, who was increasingly blind from 1786. •
Isaac Barré, MP for
Wycombe 1761–1774 and
Calne 1774–1790, who became blind in one eye at the
Battle of Quebec in 1759 and totally blind in 1784. •
Richard Burton Phillipson, MP for
Eye 1762–1768 and 1770–1792, who became deaf by 1784. •
John Sawbridge, MP for
Hythe 1768–1774 and
City of London 1774–1795, who was paralysed from about 1792. •
Frederick Cornewall, MP for
Montgomery Boroughs 1771–1774, who lost his right arm at the
Battle of Toulon (1744). •
James Murray, MP for
Perthshire 1773–1794, who was permanently disabled in 1761 by a battle wound that left him unable to lie down. •
Hugh Palliser, MP for
Scarborough 1774–1779 and
Huntingdon 1780–1784, whose left leg was left permanently lame by injury from an accidental shipboard explosion in 1748. •
Pinckney Wilkinson, MP for
Old Sarum 1774–1784, who was incapacitated by a stroke from 1782. •
Sir William Middleton, MP for
Northumberland 1774–1795, who was lame for life after severe wounding at
Battle of Minden in 1759. •
Brook Watson, MP for the
City of London 1784–1793, who lost his right leg after a shark attack while swimming at
Havana in 1749. •
Francis Mackenzie, MP for
Ross-shire 1784–1790 and 1794–1796, who became deaf and almost dumb from
scarlet fever at about age of 12. •
Sir John Call, MP for
Callington 1784–1801, who became blind in about 1794. •
Sir Lawrence Palk, MP for
Ashburton 1787–1796 and
Devon 1796–1812, who was severely crippled by gout by 1809. •
Banastre Tarleton, MP for
Liverpool 1790–1806 and 1807–1812, who sustained a crippled right hand, losing two fingers, in action during the
American War of Independence in 1781. •
John Theophilus Rawdon, MP for
Appleby 1791–1796, and
Launceston 1796–1802, who lost a leg at the
Battle of Brandywine during the American War of Independence in 1777. •
Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, MP for
Beaumaris 1794–1796 and
Denbighshire 1796–1840, who became deaf after contracting
erysipelas in 1826, and had a large tongue which impeded speech. •
Sir Alexander Hope, MP for
Dumfries Burghs 1796–1800 and
Linlithgowshire 1800–1834, who lost an arm and was left permanently lame after being wounded in the
Flanders Campaign in 1795. •
Sir Robert Abercromby, MP for
Clackmannanshire 1798–1802, who became increasingly blind in office due to an eye disease contracted in India by 1797. •
John Horne Tooke, MP for
Old Sarum 1801–1802, who lost sight of right eye in a boyhood fight and was reportedly "lame" when he took his seat. •
Robert Haldane Bradshaw, MP for
Brackley 1802–1832, who lost use of his left limbs after a stroke in 1831. •
Mervyn Archdall, MP for
County Fermanagh 1802–1834, who lost his right arm in battle in Egypt in 1801. •
James Paull, MP for
Newtown (Isle of Wight) 1805–1806, who was left disabled in his right arm from a duel in 1795. •
Sir William Maxwell, MP for
Wigtownshire 1805–1812 and 1822–1830, who lost his left arm at the
Battle of Corunna and was badly wounded in the knee in the
Walcheren Expedition in 1809. •
James Mingay, MP for
Thetford 1806–1807, who lost his right hand in childhood accident at a mill. •
Sir Samuel Hood, MP for
Westminster 1806–1807 and
Bridport 1807–1812, who lost an arm in action at sea in 1806. •
Thomas Thompson, MP for
Rochester 1807–1818, who lost a leg at the
Battle of Copenhagen (1801). •
Fulk Greville Howard, MP for
Castle Rising 1808–1832, who lost the sight of one eye during the
Helder Expedition in 1799. •
Sir William Beresford, MP for
County Waterford 1811–1814, who was blinded in one eye by an accident with a musket on military service in 1786. •
Samuel Shepherd, MP for
Dorchester 1814–1819, who was increasingly deaf since 1790. •
Coningsby Waldo-Sibthorpe, MP for
Lincoln 1814–1822, who was left paralysed in his lower back in carriage accident in 1821. •
Lord Fitzroy Somerset, MP for
Truro 1818–1820 and 1826–1829, who lost his right arm at the
Battle of Waterloo. •
Thomas Henry Hastings Davies, MP for
Worcester 1818–1834 and 1837–1841, who became increasingly paralysed since a carriage accident while contesting the
1835 general election. •
John Mytton, MP for
Shrewsbury 1819–1820, who had incipient deafness which affected his only appearance in a debate. •
Sir Henry Hardinge, MP for
Durham 1820–1830,
St Germans 1830–1831,
Newport (Cornwall) 1831–1832, and
Launceston 1832–1844, who lost his left hand at the
Battle of Ligny in 1815. •
Lord John Hay, MP for
Haddingtonshire 1826–1831 and
Windsor 1847–1850, who lost his left arm in a sea battle in 1807. •
Lord William Lennox, MP for
King's Lynn 1831–1834, who lost the sight of one eye in a horse riding accident in 1815. •
William Ewart Gladstone, MP for
Newark 1832–1845,
Oxford University 1847–1865,
South Lancashire 1865–1868,
Greenwich 1868–1880, and
Midlothian 1880–1895, four times prime minister between 1868 and 1894, who lost the forefinger of his left hand in a shotgun accident in 1842. •
Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, MP for
Preston 1832–1837, who lost an eye due to erysipelas infection while in office. •
George Julius Poulett Scrope, MP for
Stroud 1833–1867, who became increasingly blind later in office. •
Admiral Sir Charles Napier, MP for
Marylebone 1841–1847 and
Southwark 1855–1860, who walked with a limp and stoop due to leg and neck wounds received in the
Napoleonic Wars. •
Henry Fawcett, MP for
Brighton 1865–1874 and
Hackney 1874–1884, who was blind since a field shooting accident when he was 25. •
Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh, MP for
County Wexford 1866–1868 and
County Carlow 1868–1880, who was born with no arms, and no legs. Or more precisely, no arms below the lower third of his upper arm, nor legs below mid thigh. And in consequence, no hands and no feet. •
Joseph Chamberlain, MP for
Birmingham 1876–1885 and
Birmingham West 1885–1914, whose sight, speech and use of right hand were impaired by a stroke in 1906. •
Walter Wren, MP for
Wallingford in 1880, who was crippled by spinal disease since age of 18. •
Arthur Elliot, MP for
Roxburghshire 1880–1892 and
City of Durham 1898–1906, who had a leg amputated at age four after a fall. •
Michael Davitt, MP for
County Meath in 1882,
North Meath in 1892,
North East Cork in 1893, and
South Mayo 1895–1899, who lost his right arm in an
industrial accident at a textile mill in 1857 aged 11. •
Sir William Tindal Robertson, MP for
Brighton 1886–1889, who became blind from
glaucoma in 1873. •
William Archibald Macdonald, MP for
Queen's County Ossory 1886–1892, who was totally blind from age of 13. •
Sir William Hornby, MP for
Blackburn 1886–1910, who became deaf in 1908. •
George William Palmer, MP for
Reading 1892–1895 and 1898–1904, who became increasingly deaf in office, causing his resignation. •
Sir Winston Churchill, MP for
Oldham 1900–1906,
Manchester North West 1906–1908,
Dundee 1908–1922,
Epping 1924–1945 and
Woodford 1945–1964, twice prime minister between 1940 and 1955, who became increasingly deaf from 1949 and a wheelchair user after a series of strokes towards the end of his service. •
Joseph Nannetti, MP for
Dublin College Green 1900–1915, who was paralysed by illness from 1913. •
Daniel Desmond Sheehan, MP for
Mid-Cork 1901–1918, who became deaf due to shellfire and ill-health while serving in World War I by 1917. •
Philip Snowden, MP for
Blackburn 1906–1918 and
Colne Valley 1922–1931, who was paralysed by cycling accident from waist down in 1891 and walked with aid of sticks. •
Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, MP for
Ripon 1910–1925, who was born with a withered left arm and without a left hand. •
Duncan Frederick Campbell, MP for
North Ayrshire 1911–1916, who lost his left arm at the
First Battle of Ypres in 1914. •
Aubrey Herbert, MP for
South Somerset 1911–1918 and
Yeovil 1918–1923, who was near blind from youth, becoming totally blind in his last year of life and service. •
Cathal Brugha, MP for
County Waterford 1918–1922, who was left with a permanent limp after being wounded in the
Easter Rising 1916. •
Dan Irving, MP for
Burnley 1918–1924, who had lost a leg in an industrial accident as a railway worker. •
Sir Oswald Mosley, MP for
Harrow 1918–1924 and
Smethwick 1926–1931, who was left with a permanent limp after fracturing his right leg in a plane crash during World War I. •
Brunel Cohen, MP for
Liverpool Fairfield 1918–1931, who lost both legs at the
Third Battle of Ypres. •
Frederick Martin, MP for
Aberdeen and Kincardine East 1922–1924, who was blinded during military training in 1915. •
Douglas Pielou, MP for
Stourbridge 1922–1927, who was severely disabled by wounds at the
Battle of Loos in 1915. •
Alfred Barnes, MP for
East Ham South 1922-1931 and 1935–1955, who lost his leg in a fairground accident aged eight. •
John Jacob Astor V, MP for
Dover 1922–1945, who lost his right leg in battle in World War I in 1918. •
Herbert Morrison, MP for
Hackney South 1923–1924, 1929–1931 and 1935–1945,
Lewisham East 1945–1950 and
Lewisham South 1950–1959, who lost sight of his right eye due to babyhood infection. •
Mabel Philipson, MP for
Berwick-upon-Tweed 1923–1929, lost sight in one eye after a car crash near
Brooklands racing circuit in 1911 that killed her first husband Thomas Stanley Rhodes. •
Ian Fraser, MP for
St. Pancras North 1924–1929, 1931–1937 and for
Lonsdale 1940–1958, who was blinded at the
Battle of the Somme. •
Robert Bourne, MP for
Oxford 1924–1938, who lost sight of one eye in schooldays game of
rounders and sustained a crippled hand at
Suvla Bay during World War I. •
Harold Macmillan, MP for
Stockton-on-Tees 1924–1929 and 1931–1945 and for
Bromley 1945–1964, Prime Minister 1957–1963, who was left with a slight limp and weak right hand, affecting handwriting, by a series of wounds in World War I. •
Charles Simmons, MP for
Birmingham Erdington 1929–1931,
Birmingham West 1945–1950 and
Brierley Hill 1950–1959, who lost a lower leg at the
Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917. •
Richard Austen Butler, MP for
Saffron Walden 1929–1965, who was left with a poorly functioning right hand after a childhood riding accident. •
Reginald Essenhigh, MP for
Newton 1931–1935, who lost a leg in action in World War I in 1917. •
Joseph Leckie, MP for
Walsall 1931–1938, who became increasingly deaf in office. •
Duncan Sandys, MP for
Norwood 1935-1945 and
Streatham 1950-1974, who was left with a permanent limp after foot injuries in a motoring accident in 1941. •
John Dugdale, MP for
West Bromwich 1941–1963, who was partly deaf from childhood. •
Violet Bathurst, Lady Apsley, MP for
Bristol Central 1943–1945, had a hunting accident in 1930 which left her permanently disabled and unable to walk, needing a wheelchair. •
Cecil Manning, MP for
Camberwell North 1944–1950, who lost his right arm serving in World War I. •
Michael Foot, MP for
Plymouth Devonport 1945–1955,
Ebbw Vale 1960–1983 and
Blaenau Gwent 1983–1992, who walked with aid of a stick since car crash injuries in 1963 and was blinded in one eye by an attack of
shingles in 1976. •
Hervey Rhodes, MP for
Ashton under Lyne 1945–1964, who walked with a limp after severe wounding in World War I. •
Geoffrey Stevens, MP for
Portsmouth Langstone 1950–1964, who became increasingly deaf from 1962. •
Iain Macleod, MP for
Enfield West 1950–1970, who permanently limped due to a World War II wound in 1940 and later
ankylosing spondylitis. •
Richard Frederick Wood, MP for
Bridlington 1950–1979, who lost both legs in battle in the Middle East in World War II (son of Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, above). •
William Rees-Davies, MP for
Isle of Thanet 1953–1974 and
Thanet West 1974–1983, who lost his right arm in action in World War II. •
William Yates, MP for
The Wrekin 1955–1966, who lost a leg at the knee in the
First Battle of El Alamein. •
Julian Critchley, MP for
Rochester and Chatham 1959–1964 and
Aldershot 1970–1997 who was severely impaired in mobility since before 1992 because of complications of polio suffered when a young man. •
John Montagu Douglas Scott, Earl of Dalkeith, MP for
Edinburgh North 1960–1973, who was left paralysed chest down after a fox hunting accident in 1971. •
Jack Ashley, MP for
Stoke-on-Trent South 1966–1992, who became profoundly deaf in 1967 after a routine operation. •
Roland Boyes, MP for
Houghton and Washington 1983–1997, who suffered from
Alzheimer's disease from 1993. •
Terry Dicks, MP for
Hayes and Harlington 1983–1997, who had
cerebral palsy. •
Gordon Brown MP for
Dunfermline East 1983–2005 and
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 2005–2015, Prime Minister 2007–2010. Blind in left eye since a rugby accident in 1967. •
David Maclean, MP for
Penrith and The Border 1983–2010, who has had
multiple sclerosis since 1996 (own account). •
Paul Flynn, MP for
Newport West 1987–2019, who was diagnosed with lifelong
rheumatoid arthritis at age nine and suffered serious hearing loss while employed in a nail factory. •
Emma Nicholson, MP for
Devon West and Torridge 1987–1997, who has been deaf since age 16. •
David Blunkett, MP for
Sheffield Brightside 1987–2010 and
Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough 2010–2015, who has been blind since birth. •
Anne Begg, MP for
Aberdeen South 1997–2015, who has used a wheelchair since 1984 due to a degenerative disease. •
Fiona Mactaggart, MP for
Slough 1997–2017, who suffered from
multiple sclerosis as early as 2006. •
Nicola Blackwood, MP for
Oxford West and Abingdon 2010–2017, who was diagnosed with
Ehlers–Danlos syndrome in 2013. •
Robert Halfon, MP for
Harlow 2010–2024, who has cerebral palsy. •
Stephen Lloyd, MP for
Eastbourne 2010–2015 and 2017–2019, who is deaf in one ear and has partial hearing in another since contracting
measles aged six. •
Paul Maynard, MP for
Blackpool North and Cleveleys 2010–2024, who has cerebral palsy and a congenital speech defect. •
Alec Shelbrooke, MP for
Elmet and Rothwell 2010–2024 and
Wetherby and Easingwold since 2024, who is partially deaf. •
Craig Mackinlay, MP for
South Thanet 2015–2024, who had his feet and hands amputated in 2023 after contracting sepsis. •
Marsha de Cordova, MP for
Battersea since 2017, who is registered blind. •
Jared O'Mara, MP for
Sheffield Hallam 2017–2019, who has cerebral palsy. •
Fiona Onasanya, MP for
Peterborough 2017–2019, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018. •
Jonathan Gullis, MP for
Stoke-on-Trent North 2019–2024, who is deaf in one ear. •
Tom Randall, MP for
Gedling 2019–2024, who has had ankylosing spondylitis since age 16. •
Liam Conlon, MP for
Beckenham and Penge since 2024, who has been disabled since a major hip fracture at age 13. •
Stephen Darling, MP for
Torbay since 2024, who has been registered blind since 1986, having been born with a genetic eye condition. •
Marie Tidball, MP for
Penistone and Stocksbridge since 2024, who was born with foreshortened arms and legs and one digit on each hand. ==Members of Parliament who died on wartime active service==